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Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is the first in a series of books written by Douglas Adams. The series itself, as with ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is often referred to by the name of the first novel. The sequel is ''The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul''. A third, unfinished book was written, named ''The Salmon of Doubt''. A BBC radio adaptation, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective agency, was broadcast in October 2007. A BBC America television series based on the events of the Dirk Gently series was broadcast in 2016. References to Hitchhiker's Book In the first book, Dirk Gently hands Richard Macduff a towel. Richard asks, "Do you carry a towel with you everywhere?" This is an obvious reference to the Guide's stance on towels. BBC America television series The 2016 BBC America adaption (later released on Netflix) included several references to Hitchhiker's. In the first series, the number 42 shows up a few times, such as on the wall of a death maze which Dirk Gently and his assistant/friend Todd Brotzman encounter. There are also said to be 42 members of an organisation called Darkwing. In a couple of episodes a character says 'possible' then corrects it with 'probable', which is likely a reference to probability and the Infinite Improbability Drive. In the first episode Dirk says that “there was a bit about a sofa, a thing with Thor…”, which is a reference to events that occurred in the Hitchhiker's novel ''Life, the Universe and Everything'', and also a reference to the Dirk Gently books, as in the first book there is an incident with a sofa stuck in a wall, and in the second Thor is a character who appears. As with the Dirk Gently books, Thor is mentioned several times in this TV series. The first series involves the movement of souls belonging to both animals and people, resulting, at one point, with people being inside the bodies of mice. This is a reference to Frankie and Benjy mouse, who were actually pan-dimensional beings. It is also mentioned that the projects of Blackwing have been loose for fifteen, almost sixteen, years, which is about the same amount of time that Ford Prefect was stranded on Earth. In the second series, one of the main characters, Farah, wears a jacket with a 42 patch on the arm, and one of the characters had a dog is named Agrajag. Dirk Gently is at one point called "a hoopy frood", a term used repeatedly in the Hitchhiker's series (mainly by, or in reference to, Ford Prefect) and in that same episode, before jumping into a potentially unstable portal, says to himself "don't panic!", which is written on the cover of the Guide. Both series feature a group of characters called The Rowdy 3, which actually involves four members and becomes five members. Many fans think this is a reference to Adams' books being a trilogy in five parts, originally being planned to be three books but ending up as five. In the final episode of the second series, The Rowdy 3 becomes six members with an added member from another universe, possibly a reference to the final book in the Hitchhiker's series, written by a different author than Adams, Eoin Colfer. Behind the scenes * Dirk Maggs, who worked on both the Hitchhiker's and Dirk Gently radio series as a director considered the two part of the same Universe. * Michael Fenton Stevens worked on both The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series, and the radio adaption of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. External links *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency on Wikipedia *Dirk Gently's Holistic Wiki, a Dirk Gently Wiki Category:Related Books Category:Books written by Douglas Adams Category:Books